From William Blake’s
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
The ancient poets animated all sensible objects with gods or geniuses,
calling them by the names and adorning them with the properties of woods,
rivers, mountains, lakes, cities, nations, and whatever their enlarged and
numerous senses could perceive.
And particularly they studied the genius of each city and country,
placing it under its mental deity.
Till a system was formed, which some took advantage of, and
enslaved the vulgar by attempting to realize or abstract the mental deities
from their objects: thus began priesthood; Choosing forms of worship from
poetic tales.
And at length they pronounced that the gods had ordered
such things.
Thus men forgot that all deities reside in the human
breast.
